It is a timeless hardwood debate.
But there never seems to be a consensus when it comes to how much of a lead is enough to secure a victory.
Despite leading for nearly the entire game, which included a double-digit fourth-quarter advantage, South Kitsap struggled toward the end before it defeated Skyline 64-54 in the first round of the Class 4A state girls basketball tournament Friday at Rogers High School in Puyallup.
The Wolves (20-5), who advance to play a winner-to-state, loser-out game against Bellarmine Prep at 1 p.m. Saturday at Puyallup High School, earned their first 20-win season in a decade.
But it did not come easy, which mostly can be attributed to free-throw shooting. The Spartans, who finished with a 16-9 record, converted 18 of 19 from the line. Guard Morgan Farrar made a pair — Skyline converted all 13 of its second-half free throws — with 1 minute, 42 seconds, left to cut South’s lead to 58-54.
The Spartans were unable to draw anymore fouls after that point, though. And while the Wolves were just 9 of 18 from the free-throw line, they made 4 of 5 attempts in the final minute to secure the win.
“If anything, they’ve had the experience of playing in close games,” South coach Mark Lutzenhiser said. “That helped down the stretch.”
It was not the only Skyline challenge that South survived. The Spartans took their only lead of the game, 23-22, with 2:47 remaining in the first half of a pair of free throws by post Megan Wiedeman.
But Wolves junior guard Jackie Steiger, who scored a game-high 17 points, responded with a 3-pointer. On the ensuing possession, she blocked a 3-pointer late in the shot clock, stole the ball and outpaced a defender for a layup. It was a similar fate for Skyline the next time down the court as Steiger again stripped the ball handler for an uncontested layup. That helped South finish the first half on an 11-0 run.
“I got myself motivated from that and I think it kind of got the team going,” Steiger said. “That’s all we needed.”
Lutzenhiser describes Steiger as “happy go lucky.”
“I don’t think she understands how dominating she can be,” he said. “I think if she realized how much she can do, she might scare some people.”
In addition to Steiger, senior point guard Kelsey Callaghan (15) and junior forward Taylor Sunkel (14) both scored in double figures.
But Lutzenhiser perhaps was just as satisfied with his team’s improved rebounding effort against a team that featured three starters who were 6 feet. The Wolves were outrebounded 37-32.
“Their big people were pushing us around and we talked about it at halftime,” he said. “I thought we did a better job in the second half of rebounding.”
Besides the free-throw shooting, one area where Lutzenhiser would like to see improvement is turnovers. South finished with 13, which was one fewer than Skyline.
“I thought we made some uncharacteristic turnovers that we haven’t made all year,” he said. “I think that’s first-round jitters.”
The Wolves have little time to correct that against Bellarmine, which lost 67-58 against Federal Way. South lost both of its regular-season meetings against the Lions.
“I think the second time we played Bellarmine is when everyone started to play together and play hard,” said Steiger, referring to the Wolves’ 60-53 setback Jan. 28 at Bellarmine. “It’s when we really started to get together.”
Class 4A state tournament
First round at Rogers High School
South Kitsap 64, Skyline 54
South Kitsap 18 14 15 17 — 64
Skyline 11 12 14 17 — 54
South Kitsap-Kelsey Callaghan 15, Ali Davis 5, Angela Romonsky 3, Jackie Steiger 17, Taylor Sunkel 14, Maile Keanu 3, Dana Goularte 7.
Skyline-Megan Wiedeman 8, Morgan Farrar 8, Anne Luempert 0, Susie Tinker 0, Haley Smith 4, Lindsey Nicholson 2, Christy Cofano 2, Michelle Bretl 16, Allie Wyszynski 14.
